Sony Pictures executives have reportedly been forced to revert to their old BlackBerry handsets after the company's computer systems were hacked.

Fresh reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times suggest that the firm turned to the older devices as they are able to send and receive emails securely through their own servers.

The reports also claim that Sony was forced to dust off aged computer hardware to transfer salaries as bank deposits were too risky following the breach.

They also shed light on how the crisis unfolded, claiming that it took Sony employees between 24 and 36 hours to realize the gravity of the situation.

After Sony reported the breach, the authorities and a cybersecurity team from FireEye Inc set up a temporary headquarters nearby to conduct a join investigation. North Korean involvement was suspected within a week.

FireEye investigators are reportedly unsure whether they have completely blocked the hackers from Sony's systems, but could restore the network within the next eight weeks if it remains stable.

The moral of the story here? Never get rid of all your old phones. You never know when that obsolete Blackberry may come in handy.

Artists are great starters. We can start project after project with great excitement. Finishing things on the other hand is a different story. We run into blocks. Something comes up. We get lethargic, we get lazy. Excuse. Excuse. Excuse. We all need to cut that out and learn to do or work from beginning to end. Artist Will Terrell talks about this problem while reviewing his sketch.

Wolverine Digital Comics Sale - Marvel Monday!

Marvel has another one of their Marvel Mondays sales going on right now on Labor Day. Today, you can get over 20 digital comics starring Wolverine for just $.99 each! That's 20 books for less than $20! And they feature Wolverine, who is about to take that long sleep as Death of Wolverine begins. So check out the details and link below to get to reading your favorite Wolverine comics from the list offered! - Brant Fowler, writing for ComicRelated.com

Over 20 comics for 99¢ each

Featuring works by Cornell, Davis, Cho, Madureira, and more, get over 20 comics for just 99¢ each. Experience every issue of Paul Cornell's 2013-2014 run on Wolverine and the first thirteen issues of Savage Wolverine in Guided View. Sale ends today!

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com

The cutest little vampires you'll ever see are now for FREE on Comixology for a limited time.

Action Lab Entertainment has released the first Vamplets OGN, VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY for FREE on Comixology for a limited time, until September 5, 2014. So act now if you want to check out Gloomvania's littlest bloodsuckers at no cost.

Action Lab does a lot of fantastic series ranging from all-ages to mature, and everything in between. Take advantage of this offer while you can, and let us know in the comments below what you think of VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY. And check out the full details in the press release below:

VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY IS FREE ON COMIXOLOGY!

Gloomvania's littlest bloodsuckers first OGN is now free for a limited time!

Action Lab Entertainment is proud to announce that they are offering the first volume of VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY for free on Comixology.com! Starting today until September 5th, 2014, you have the opportunity to pick up the first issue of VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY for free! Recently featured on The View, Vamplets is a modern fairy tale filled with monsters, mayhem, and magic!

Created by Gayle Middleton, the talented artist responsible for the redesigns of My little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop for Hasbro, Vamplets is the story of teenager Destiny Harper. With graduation coming and zero prospects for the future, Destiny is at a crossroads in her life. Answering an ad for "The Night Care Nursery" seems like a great idea, until she is magically transported to Gloomvania, where dark creatures lurk the streets, and the world is being mysteriously overrun by baby vampyres called Vamplets! Can Destiny serve her term as Governess of "The Nightmare Nursery" and return home? Fairy tales get a modern update in this coming of age tale of monsters, mayhem, and magic!
You can download VAMPLETS: THE NIGHTMARE NURSERY for free on Comixology.com.

Vamplets: The Nightmare Nursery is in stores now, Diamond Item Code: AUG130915, Volume Two is scheduled for a August 2014 release and is available for order, Diamond Item Code: AUG130915.

Action Lab Entertainment is proud to announce that Beginning with the Action Lab hit, F1rst Hero and the Action Lab Danger Zone sexy mega hit, Zombie Tramp, all of their titles will now be released as full issue, digital first offerings through Comixology.

The entire catalog from both Action Lab and their mature readers imprint, Action Lab: Danger Zone will be available DRM Free as part of Comixology's Digital Ownership Initiative.

Single issues will be $0.99 during the first two weeks of release, before returning to their regular price of $1.99. In addition, books will be timed to release digitally the same month they are offered in Diamond Distribution's retailer catalog, Previews, giving comics fans a taste of what we do and driving them to comic shops nationwide.

To launch their newly announced partnership, iVerse is also now offering each of Valiant's best-selling #1 issues for free on the ComicsPlus app throughout the month of August. Visit Valiant's publisher page here for more information.

Established in 1989, Valiant has sold over 80 million comic books, and today its characters continue to be forged in publishing, licensing, film, video games, and beyond. Since its summer 2012 publishing relaunch, Valiant has returned to the fore as one of the most commercially and critically successful independent publishers in the industry today with an initial slate of titles that included X-O Manowar by New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord; Harbinger by New York Times best-selling writer Joshua Dysart and Harvey Award-nominated artist Khari Evans; and Archer & Armstrong by the New York Times best-selling creative team of writer Fred Van Lente and artist Clayton Henry.

After multiple Publisher of the Year awards and nominations, including a 2012 Diamond Gem Award for Publisher of the Year, Valiant ventured even farther in 2013 with the debut of its first crossover event, Harbinger Wars, and the release of Unity #1 by writer Matt Kindt and artist Doug Braithwaite - the year's highest charting debut issue from a non-premier publisher with sales in excess of 70,000 copies. This May, Valiant followed up with "Valiant First" - an all-new line of titles led by the smash-hit ongoing series, Rai, and its biggest crossover event to date, Armor Hunters. Most recently, on the heels of 16 nominations at this year's Harvey Awards, the publisher has announced The Valiant - a prestige format mini-series from New York Times best-selling writers Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt with art by Eisner Award winner Paolo Rivera beginning this December.

Valiant will be the latest publisher to join the rapidly expanding offerings of the ComicsPlus app from iVerse Media.

"Valiant has been consistently producing some of the best comics in the industry since their relaunch in 2012," said iVerse Media founder and CEO Michael Murphey. "We could not be more proud to make their remarkable catalog and amazing characters available in ComicsPlus."

In addition to the ComicsPlus app and website, Valiant's titles will be made available to librarians and their patrons everywhere via the ComicsPlus: Library Edition app, which makes thousands of high-quality titles accessible to school and library patrons on any device, anywhere, and at any time.

"Valiant's number one priority is to make our characters and content available to the largest audience possible, and, via our new partnership with iVerse, we have an incredibly exciting and important new channel to continue that mission," said Valiant Publisher Fred Pierce. "With a potential readership that's measured in the millions, we hope to win over even more fans to some of the most critically acclaimed comic books being produced anywhere today, just as we have month in and month out in comic book stores around the world."

Valiant titles are available now on the ComicsPlus iOS and Android apps, and via their website comicsplusapp.com.

The "comic book and an easy-to-use open source toolkit" will feature work from top creators including Garth Ennis, Colleen Doran, Nicola Scott, Jose Villarrubia, Pete Hogan, Peter Snejbjerg, Paul Davidson, Simon Bowland, Leah Moore, John Reppion and Todd Klein.

The free, open source platform is intended for use by industry professionals, businesses, arts organisations and fans.

"Personally, I can't wait," said Moore in a statement. "With Electricomics, we are hoping to address the possibilities of comic strips in this exciting new medium, in a way that they have never been addressed before.

"Rather than simply transferring comic narrative from the page to the screen, we intend to craft stories expressly devised to test the storytelling limits of this unprecedented technology. To this end we are assembling teams of the most cutting edge creators in the industry and then allowing them input into the technical processes in order to create a new capacity for telling comic book stories.

"It will then be made freely available to all of the exciting emergent talent that is no doubt out there, just waiting to be given access to the technical toolkit that will enable them to create the comics of the future."

Electricomics will feature a 32-page showcase of four stories: Moore's reimagination of Winsor McCay's legendary comic character in Big Nemo; Hogan's horror tale Cabaret Amygdala; Ennis and Snejbjerg's World War One strip Red Horse; and Leah Moore and John Reppion's sci-fi story Sway.

Digital R&D Fund for the Arts funded Electricomics, which was built by Ocasta Studios.

If you can't find your way to a comic shop today for Free Comic Book Day, you can still get some FREE comics digitally by other means. Among them, DriveThruComics, which is offering over 500 FREE digital comics from the likes of Aspen, Valiant, Markosia, Actuality Press, Triptych Books and more! Check them out!

Unity #1 from Valiant Comics - To kill a king, he has created an army. The world's most dangerous man, Toyo Harada, has been struck by the one thing he never thought possible - fear. Halfway across the globe, a new power threatens to topple modern civilization and, to preempt the cataclysm that is to come, Harada will unite the most lethal, most volatile, most unforgiving team the world has ever known - UNITY.

Midnight Kiss #1 from Markosia - In a shattered multiworld where every dream is one world's reality, Matthew Sable and Nightmare De'Lacy try to keep the balance, facing Angels and Demons, Supernatural Hitmen, Tin Men and Aligator Kings at every turn.

Charismagic V1 #0 from Aspen Comics - Enter Hank Medley, a Las Vegas magician at the top of his game. For Hank, everything comes easy: women, fame, and definitely fortune. However, 'Hank the Magnificent' soon realizes that in Sin City, your luck can change at the drop of a hat--or wand--in his case.

Almighties Origins from Actuality Press - The White House is getting its own super-team... off the record. A former downtrodden housewife with anger issues, a mercenary with psychotic tendencies, a cocky British punk, an egomaniac, and a guy who runs a takeout.

Harbor Moon #1 from Spoke Lane - Timothy Vance has taken a trip to out-of-the-way Harbor Moon, Maine in search of a man named Andrew O'Callaghan. So far the man is nowhere to be found and it doesn't seem the town takes kindly to strangers.

The God Machine by Chandra Free - Stricken with grief from the death of his girlfriend, Sith, Guy Salvatore struggles to make sense of his world. He's plagued with hallucinations of monsters that torment and threaten his life. A man calling himself Satan holds the answers to Guy's woes. Satan's twisted tongue promises Sith is alive, but there's a catch.

Rogue Trooper: Welcome to Nu-Earth - Nu-Earth, a battle-ravaged world forever scarred by an ongoing war between the Nort and Souther armies. The poison atmosphere makes it hostile to all who fight there, with the exception of one person - the Rogue Trooper.

Ravine from Top Cow Productions - There are those who claim that long ago, an ancient spell almost split the land in two, leaving an endless ravine in the far north of this world of fearsome dragons, brave warriors and scheming sorcerers. One man, Nebezial Asheri, driven by the deaths of his wife and daughters, now attempts to reclaim that magic, and bring his loved ones back to life.

Rainbow in the Dark Omnibus: The Compete Saga - Every day of Donna's life has been exactly like the one before. Normalcy is her prison, but no matter how badly she wants to escape, she has no idea how. Everything changes the day a band of bohemian rebels explode from nowhere, blasting through the city streets with rainbow cannons and fire-spewing muscle cars.

Judge Dredd: Origins - AN UNUSUAL DELIVERY IS MADE TO THE GRAND HALL OF JUSTICE, a package that will force Dredd to lead a mission into the Cursed Earth and into the darkest recesses of the history of the Judges and Mega-City One...

So head on over to DriveThruComics and see what you can find... for FREE!

In celebration of Free Comic Book Day, Al Nickerson is featuring his comic, AN ACT OF FAITH #1-4 on iVerse Media for FREE from Friday May 2nd through Sunday May 4th. So if you're looking for a little something extra for your FCBD this year, you might check out this digital download.

Mark Waid has detailed Thrillbent's new iPad app.

The app will run a subscription service that offers a "level of new content" for a $3.99 (£2.40) monthly subscription.

The new content will include Empire Volume Two by Waid, Barry Kitson and Chris Sotomayor; The House in the Wall by James Tynion IV, Noah J Yuenkel and Eryk Donovan; Insufferable: Home Field Advantage by Waid Peter Krause, Nolan Woodard and Troy Peteri; The Best Thing by Seanan McGuire; and the return of The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood.

"That's a lot of new content, and I'll be blunt - to make sure our artists, colourists and letterers are compensated fairly, and to continue to build a base for other creators to redefine this medium in new and exciting ways, we can't afford to give it all away for free the same way we've been doing," wrote Waid on the Thrillbent blog.

"But neither do we want to create an unfair barrier to entry. Ultimately, what we arrived at was this: a monthly subscription model that allows access to all Thrillbent material past and present for the price of one print comic: $3.99.

"For that $3.99, you'll be able to read everything as it rolls out, the moment it's posted. You'll receive push and/or e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted.

"Create a subscription account and your info will be kept up-to-date on the website, the iPad app, and all future apps and platforms, meaning wherever you're signed in, we'll keep track for you of what you've already read and what's new so you can tell at a glance where you are in any given series. And, yes, anything you've already purchased carries over to the new system, no worries there."

Thrillbent will maintain free content and its DRM-free download store.

Waid added that an Android app is also in development.

The out-of-print Empire will also be made available on Thrillbent.

Mark has long been on the front lines of the digital comics battle and this new app is an incredible new weapon in that melee.